GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR, N.L. — There’s a passion for poutine in Grand Falls-Windsor.
Twenty-eight minutes after ticket sales opened on Tuesday, April 2, the upcoming Poutine Festival sold out. According to the Town of Grand Falls-Windsor, there were 400 tickets available.
Jeff Pope, with Third Place Café, is getting in on the creativity, as one of the 10 provincial restaurants to offer up their take on the national favourite June 15.
He said the quick sale of tickets speaks to more than just a fondness for fries, cheese and gravy.
“In Grand Falls-Windsor there’s a passion for food, and a lot of people in this community like to support local,” Pope said. “When local things are happening that’s the trend you’ll see here, good people supporting good people.”
Third Place Café has a few poutines on offer at its Main Street location, and will be doing a Korean pork belly poutine for the festival.
“We have tried this before, but we’re going to be adding a little extra fun to it when we do it for the town,” he said. “The nice part about this as well is we’ll be using local cheese, the Five Brothers in St. John’s, and using in-town harvested micro-greens as well.
“It’s local supporting local, the way it should be.”
Mayor Barry Manuel said the festival is part of an ongoing focus in developing community events that engage residents and bring tourist into the area, serving as an economic boost. The town is looking to hold events every month from May to September, he added.
For the town, poutine made sense.
“It’s big in every establishment and most people really enjoy poutine,” said Manuel. “And we’ve been having a good partnership in recent years with chefs around the province, particularly with the culinary food festival.”
In reaching out to those chefs, he said, creative takes on what is traditionally fries, cheese and gravy had the makings for a great event.
While all might seem lost for lovers of poutine, Manuel said there’s another way to gain access.
In conjunction with the festival, an ATV festival is set to take place on the same weekend. Those who purchase tickets for the ATV weekend will have access to the poutine festival.
